Remaining Steadfast

 Sin in Time

All the praise and glory be to God. 

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

This is a message you need to understand fully. This message will become increasingly relevant over time. As a child of God, you not only can stand firm, but you also need to live your life in steadfastness. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Stand firm.

Steadfastness = the quality of being resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering: "no side wins without steadfastness in the face of adversity"

Society and God used to agree on many things. Society has attempted to remove God and has increasingly become more evil over time. Of course, I understand this. However, as a child of God, you must not do this. You need to be steadfast.

Let us pray, 

Heavenly Father, LORD God, we come before you today in thanksgiving and praise. We thank you for all you have done for us, and we pray for the forgiveness of our sins. We thank you for this opportunity to enter into your Word and have our spirit fed. We ask you, Father, for eyes to see, ears to hear, and that we understand your Word, that we may be able to be steadfast in your ways, instead of this ever-changing and evil world. In Yeshua’s name, Amen!

If you have never heard the name Yeshua, that is the actual name of Jesus. It has been translated to Jesus in many contexts. I often use the name Yeshua for Jesus to emphasize the reality that He is real and is Lord. Please don't be confused—it's perfectly acceptable to refer to Him as Jesus as well. I believe He knows who we are referring to.

If it is true, and it is, that God, Yeshua, the Holy Spirit, God’s Word, His love, Truth, and Ways, are constant, steadfast, and never changing, then we should be as well. Turn to 2 Peter 1, starting at vs 3

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

Remember, we are no longer of the world. We are still in it. It still has an effect on us. It is how we respond to that effect that matters.

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”

We are called to love. Not as the world, which loves sin and the flesh, but rather as our Christ loved us and died for us.

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Say “if.” Say “and.” Put it another way. If, or because “these qualities are in you,” along with, together with the fact, “you are growing in your faith,” reading God’s Word, praying, and maturing, then “they will keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful.”

“For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.” 2 Peter 1:3-9

The world can be wishy-washy. It can reject God and call sin good and good sin. And it does. You cannot. If your Father said murder is wrong thousands of years ago, it still is. You get the point. If God says, “Christ is the only way.” Guess what? He still is.

This is the whole reason you need to have Yeshua or Jesus in your life. Without Him, none of this is even possible. Along with that, if you do not have Him, His Word, and the Spirit of God in you, you can and will fall for the lies, and you can and will live your life in the flesh and die in the flesh.

“You must have love and compassion for those, even if you do not agree with them.” “You must not judge.” “What is wrong with a loving relationship. “People have a right to be happy no matter how they choose to live.” They tell us. “The Bible was written thousands of years ago, filled with contradictions. {No, not one.} and was used to control the masses.” They tell us. “Jesus is not real. God is not real.” 

Even though the world has changed. He has not. What was once all agreed upon as sin is now ok. In some cases, not only is it ok, but according to the world, it should be and is celebrated and protected. Guess what? It is still a sin. It is still against God. As a child of God, you have to stand firm. You have to have steadfastness. Will the world and some in it hate you? Yes! Yes, they will. Even some of those you love will come to hate you. Look here. This is Jesus talking.

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours." John 15:18-20

Stand firm. Even though society says all these things, even though some of our "churches" have started to get away from the Bible and have started to accept some sins as normal and acceptable, we cannot. We must be careful, as children of God.

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." Colossians 2:8-10

James put it this way in James 1:12

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

We must be the light in the darkness. The salt of the earth. A beacon of hope. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15, starting at verse 50

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

The world is dead. Remember, there is nothing they need to do to be dead in sin. They are already dead. Remember John 3:18: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Or 1 John 5:12: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” They are already lost. The whole point is the need for a savior. Back to 1 Corinthians 50:51

“Behold! I'll tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”

A joyous day for us, the children of God. Not so joyous for the lost.

“For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Because of Him, we need not worry about this time. Or anything.

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Now, of course, this becomes easier in time. As we grow in Christ.

"Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and steadfastness.” Titus 2:2

You cannot grow in faith if you are living for the world. You can not grow in faith if you are pursuing self-glorification. You cannot grow in faith if you neglect this. {Holding up the Bible} You cannot grow in faith if you do not talk to your Father and ask Him to help you. If you are trying to "be" a Christian and live according to the world, you are going to fail. Oh, you may receive praise and glory from mankind, and even fellow "Christians," but this does not mean you will be accepted by God. Without Christ, you can never have a remote chance of being blessed and going to heaven.

The world may dislike you and tell you that you are wrong. They might insist that you are the one with the problem and label right as wrong and wrong as right. However, you are not part of this world. You are a blood-bought, Spirit-filled, grace-covered child of God.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Do not give up. Remain steadfast in your life. Stand firm in what you know God says and wants you to do. Do not fall for lies or choose the world over God. The end of the world is coming. Choose life, not death. Only then will you be able to do this.

The email, if you wish to contact me, is truthbygod1@gmail.com

May the comfort of the Holy Ghost and the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you all. May God bless and be with you always.

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!